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Six New Steigenberger Hotels Opened in 2006 |
| April 2007 - The Steigenberger Hotel Group brought the 2006 financial
year to a successful conclusion. Against the backdrop of global economic
growth and the lasting effects of the 2006 FIFA World Cup the Frankfurt-based
hotel company was able to increase both its turnover and the adjusted operating
profit. The average occupancy increased by 1.5 percentage points to 64.5
percent, the room price rose by 8 percent or 6.12 Euros to 82.73 Euros
and the yield was up over 10 percent or 5.05 Euros to 53.34 Euros. This
meant that the turnover of the Steigenberger Hotel Group rose by 10.6 percent
to 475.4 million Euros while the adjusted corporate operating profit saw
an increase of 31.4 percent to 11.3 million Euros.
Steigenberger is able to look back on one of the most successful financial years in company history. Helped by a good economic climate and an exceptional Football World Cup that fulfilled every company expectation, the Group was able to make extremely positive progress in 2006. This progress was fuelled by appreciable increases in turnover and revenue in all three divisions (Steigenberger Business Hotels, Steigenberger Resort Hotels and InterCityHotels). The strategy of a slimmer corporate structure and the focus on the core hotel business with the two brands Steigenberger Hotels and Resorts and InterCityHotels have again proved to be fully in line with market trends. �Steigenberger is directing its efforts towards achieving further stable growth in the future. Our corporate strategy has proved itself to be successful. The company is now well equipped to face future market developments�, said Karl A. Schattmaier, spokesman for the Board of Steigenberger Hotels AG, at this year�s financial press conference in Frankfurt. The turnover of the Steigenberger Hotel Group rose by 45.6 million Euros or 10.6 percent in the year in question from 429.8 million Euros to 475.4 million Euros. The increase in turnover was mostly due to a rise in the average price. In the core hotel business the 82 hotels of the Steigenberger Hotel Group showed record results: the increase in turnover amounted to 21.8 million Euros or 6.5 percent with a total turnover of 356.6 million Euros. All three divisions contributed to these results: Steigenberger City Hotels, with an increase in turnover of 10 million Euros, Steigenberger Resort Hotels with an increase of 9.7 million Euros and InterCityHotels with a rise of 2.1 million Euros. The main driver in terms of turnover was the accommodation sector, which was up 8 percent over the previous year. The F&B turnover of the hotels rose by 4.4 percent. The GOP (Gross Operating Profit) of the hotels � the measurement of operative success within the group � saw a marked rise during the 2006 financial year. The hotels achieved a GOP in the region of 103 million Euros, as opposed to 95.5 million Euros in the previous year. The increased profitability of the hotels is reflected in the increased proportion of the GOP of sales revenue, which grew from 28.5 percent to 28.9 percent. The average occupancy rose by 1.5 percentage points to 64.5 percent. The biggest increase was achieved by the Steigenberger Business Hotels division with 2.9 percentage points, bringing it to 64.2 percent. The Steigenberger Hotel Group was able to halt the fall in prices experienced the previous year and to increase the average room revenue in 2006 by a clear 8 percent or 6.12 Euros to 82.73 Euros. This development was helped by the Football World Cup, which had a sustained positive effect on Germany and the local hotel trade. As a result the room yield (RevPar), relating occupancy to average rate, leapt over 10 percent or 5.05 Euros compared to the previous year, reaching 53.34 Euros. In 2006 the Steigenberger corporation achieved similar results to the previous year�s figures; as last year, the EBITDA came to 9.6 million Euros while the corporate operating profit (EBIT) reached 2.0 million Euros (previous year: 2.3 million Euros). The company�s annual surplus came to 0.4 million Euros as opposed to 0.2 million Euros in 2005. The fact that the excellent progress made in price and turnover did not result in increased profits can be attributed to the one-off high cost of the adjustments made to the hotel portfolio and other risk provisioning. The adjusted corporate operating profit rose by 31.4 percent to 11.3 million Euros. Fundamental strategic decisions were a significant factor in these excellent company results. Continual measures designed to increase efficiency, such as the results-orientated business organisation, the introduction of a global sales structure with key account management, the promotion of E-commerce and the newly designed website are all highly professional responses to increasingly global market demands. An important element in the company�s development was the fact that six new Steigenberger hotels opened their doors in 2006. March saw the opening of the first Steigenberger hotel in Italy, the Steigenberger Hotel Therme Meran, fashioned by the top Italian designer Matteo Thun. This was followed in early April by the opening of the Steigenberger Hotel de Saxe opposite the Frauenkirche in Dresden. At the beginning of June the Steigenberger Strandhotel in Zingst opened on the Baltic coast, with the Steigenberger Hotel Treudelberg in Hamburg following suit in October. Finally, in December, two new operations in the Egyptian resort of Hurghada � the five-star Steigenberger Al Dau Beach Hotel and the all-inclusive Steigenberger Al Dau Club � received their first guests. . 
Steigenberger Hotel Therme Meran Thermenplatz/Piazza Terme 1 Meran, Italy 2008 will see three new InterCityHotels opening their doors in Dresden, Essen and Mainz. Furthermore, at the end of 2008 the four-star Superior hotel Steigenberger Hotel Herrenhof in Vienna will be opened for business. Steigenberger Hotels and Resorts sees further expansion opportunities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland but predominantly in the neighbouring countries as well as in European cities and in a variety of mountain and seaside locations. InterCityHotels also has great potential for future development. Further hotels of this brand will be opening near mainline railway stations and airports in Germany and across Europe. The critical factor for Steigenberger was and is the consistent implementation of its investment programme. At least 150 million Euros will have been invested by 2008 in structural measures affecting the core hotel business. The past year saw extensive renovation work in the Steigenberger Frankfurter Hof, the Steigenberger Parkhotel in Düsseldorf and the Steigenberger Grandhotel Petersberg. In 2006 Steigenberger invested a total of 29.3 million Euros, as opposed to 17.4 million Euros the previous year (including maintenance and repair work). The investment continues apace: planning work is virtually complete for the hotels in Davos/Switzerland, Baden-Baden, Duisburg, Berlin and Frankfurt (all in Germany) while the extension of the conference and room capacity of the Steigenberger Airport Hotel at Frankfurt Airport is already well underway. The high operative cash flow (28.7 million Euros before maintenance and repair costs) triggered by the positive business development of 2006 and the investment grant sanctioned by the shareholders was sufficient to finance investments to the tune of 29.3 million Euros and also to make further loan repayments possible. A look at the first quarter of 2007 shows a continuation of the positive progress being made by the Steigenberger Hotel Group. The turnover of the Group rose by 3.8 million Euros compared to the previous year to 90.2 million Euros (previous year: 86.4 million Euros). The rate rose by 6.7 percent or 5.47 Euros to 86.51 Euros, the yield increased significantly by 9.7 percent or 4.47 Euros to 50.76 Euros. Room occupancy showed an increase of 1.6 percentage points to 58.7 percent. A major focus of the 2007 financial year is the expansion of the Steigenberger E-commerce strategy. The online potential needs to be fully exploited. To that end positions have been created within the company for E-commerce managers, whose role it will be to accelerate the development of online business. A further important cornerstone of the Steigenberger strategy for 2007 is the gradual implementation of a new resort hotel concept. Work began on this last year. A key element is investment in both the room product and the Spa and Wellness areas. In addition, the entire catering provision is to be expanded and the quality improved still further. In future, the Steigenberger Resort Hotels will pay particular attention to special offers for sports enthusiasts, culture lovers and families. The Steigenberger Hotel Group has made a thoroughly positive start to the new financial year. The company is therefore able to look forward to positive progress throughout 2007 in both turnover and profit. The Steigenberger Hotel Group currently operates 81 hotels under the brand names Steigenberger Hotels and Resorts and InterCityHotels in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands and Egypt. |
| Contact:
Steigenberger Hotels AG
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